The Piiriveere LEADER Local Action Group (LAG) covers an area of 1 055 km2 along the south-eastern border of Estonia. The LAG’s mission is to involve the entire population - around 10 000 inhabitants - in the development of their local area. The LAG understood that local young people were particularly concerned about a perceived shortage of seasonal work opportunities and wanted to find a way to address these concerns together with them. The LAG also wanted to engage with local employers, reluctant to hire young people due to the associated administrative procedures.

The primary aim of this LEADER supported ‘Youth Working Camp’ project was to give local young people opportunities to gain paid work experience and to connect with peers and the wider community.

The project facilitated two week work placements in local businesses for a group of young people aged from 13-18 years, who all also participated in a youth camp.  

Project actions started in May 2021. The LAG established partnerships with local youth centres, whose youth workers joined the project team and became group leaders in the working camp. The LAG handled the administrative aspects of the project, including short-term employment contracts, procurement, and registration.  

The placements and camp took place in July 2021. Each participant undertook a two-week work placement with a local employer, often involving important local area maintenance tasks such as weeding, painting, etc. All the participants spent the ‘middle weekend’ together at local resort centre. Meals and accommodation costs were covered by the project, the young people organised two activity days for themselves: playing sports together, participating in a singing contest and other fun activities.

Following the placements and camp, a full review was conducted in August to October 2021. The project team (LAG representatives and the youth workers) discussed the feedback they had gathered from the youth participants and the local employers, and analysed the costs of the activities that were offered.

From November 2021 to January 2022, the LAG started to plan the following year’s work placements and camp and opened discussions with employers and potential camp leaders. From February to April 2022, the project team was (re-)established and met regularly to finalise the details of the next camp.

30 young people gained two weeks’ work experience during the summer. They gained their first experience of paid work mainly through contributing to the upkeep of the local area and got to know local employers and other young people from the region. They also got an introduction to the work of their local LAG and the possibilities for creating future projects together. Some of the participants are now in contact with the LAG about setting up future projects.

The LAG and youth representatives gained useful insights into the requirements and challenges facing employers regarding taking on young people and the aspirations of the young people themselves.

The project was innovative in the sense that it directly involved young people in the creation of new local approaches to supporting local development. Key to its success was the collective engagement of the young people involved and the monitoring, feedback and learning processes adopted.

The most valuable networking aspect from the perspective of the project organiser (the Piiriveere LEADER LAG) has been the opportunity to establish a working relationship with local employers, youth organisations and young people.